What does COVID-19 mean for the Diamond Blackfan Anemia community?
Frequently Asked Questions
A few key points:
1 – Coronavirus disease or COVID-19 is caused by a novel coronavirus (meaning that this virus has never infected humans before and there is no immunity in the general population). Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that are common in people and many different species of animals. Rarely, animal coronaviruses can infect people and then spread among people such as with the Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV) and the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-CoV), and now with this new virus, named SARS-CoV-2 that is commonly known as COVID-19; the name used in the following questions/answers.
2 – The answers provide general knowledge about the novel coronavirus disease called COVID19. The information comes from our growing clinical experience and from reliablesources such as the CDC and NIH and others.
3 – If you have questions about possible symptoms of COVID-19 infection that you or your child are experiencing, please speak to your or your child’s provider.
4 – Reported COVID-19 have ranged from mild symptoms to severe illness and death in the general population.
5 – Symptoms may appear 2-14 days after exposure and usually include fever, cough, shortness of breath and muscle aches. Some patients may be without any symptoms (asymptomatic) and some will have worsening symptoms and require hospitalization.
6 – Do not take any medications on your own to prevent or treat COVID-19. There are no medications that are proven to work to prevent COVID-19 infection (prophylactically) at this time and the medical community is still learning what the best regimen is to treat COVID-19.
7 – Until there are full testing capabilities and a vaccine there may be another wave of infection. For this reason the DBAR would like to gather information on any DBA patient infected with COVID-19 so we can accumulate a list of symptoms, risk factors and outcomes. If you or your child with DBA have been diagnosed with COVID-19, please complete the COVID-19 survey or call/email the DBAR.